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"All of his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."
- Charles M. Schulz

Dog to Dog Introductions

If you are bringing your new dog home to a house that already has a dog or dogs, you face the necessary task of introducing the new member to existing pets. This can be a stressful time for the dogs and it’s important to follow some simple rules for the introduction to prevent conflict and insure a smooth transition.

Introduce one resident dog at a time to the newcomer, starting with the top dog. That allows you to more safely supervise the interactions and prevent your resident canines from overwhelming him.

Keep dogs on leash.

Arrange first meetings on neutral ground, such as a neighbor’s yard, a dog training center, or a tennis court. Meeting a strange dog on home turf can cause fear and possibly territorial aggression in your resident dogs.

Give unleashed dogs a thirty-minute sniffing opportunity through a safe barrier, such as a fence. That helps the novelty of “new dog” wear off before a true nose-to-nose meeting and eases the tension brought on by a leash restraint.

Use a nearby park or common area many dogs visit and none “own” if you can’t go to a neutral area. Your resident dogs have less territorial claims in such a location and should be more willing to meet the new guy.

Put both dogs on leashes and take them for a walk, if you don’t have a park. Walk them parallel to each other, with a different person handling each dog. Remember to keep the leashes loose and give them room to move.

Keep them far enough apart (ten feet) so they can’t sniff or greet each other. Prevent them from staring at each other by using a toy or treat to keep each dog’s attention. Walk the pair in tandem for five or ten minutes before allowing a head-to-head meeting.

Allow the dogs to meet once they have shown positive interest in each other on-leash. Dogs naturally sniff nose-to-nose first and then work down to the anal-genital region. Let them be rude: that’s the way they say “Howdy.”

Keep the dogs away from gates, doorways, or closely confined spaces during this first meeting. Choose an area with open space to reduce tension. Interrupt sniffing every now and then by calling them away and moving around to break tension and keep the mood light. Limit these initial meetings to ten minutes or so to keep from tiring the dogs.

Distract the dogs from any hierarchical challenges (paw over the back, mounting, or chinning) by offering each a ball to redirect their attention.

Allow any play to continue a few minutes, and then break up the play to end the session on a good note.

Have the dogs repeat the meeting in your yard, off-leash, if it’s fenced. Again, monitor the situation and call the dogs apart every few minutes to ensure they don’t become too anxious.

Once the new guy has met all your resident dogs, you can begin letting them co-mingle in the yard with one or two of the “old guys” at a time paired with the new dog. Pay attention to how each dog handles the situation before adding others.

Place the new dog inside the house while the resident dogs are out. Discovering the new dog already inside reduces anxiety levels.

Segregate the new dog in a room alone with a baby gate barrier when you are not there to directly supervise and if you have concerns about safety issues (dogs of a greater size or age disparity, for example).